#Day 3 : Revenge

[catsafarithewriter]

Day 3: Revenge

A/N: This is a continuation of this ficlet from ages back – tldr: Baron's artisan gives Haru fae immortality, and eventually she takes it despite knowing it'll change her in more ways than just her lifespan. Please take some delicious angst :)

x

Baron's stomach turns as he enters the ancient workshop.

Once upon a time, the smell of wood shavings and paint had been as synonymous for home as his own heartbeat, a reminder of a simpler time – but in the decades since, the wood has rotted and the paint has spoiled, and his heartbeat dances to a different tune these days.

The only illumination comes from sputtering lanterns, their weak glow lit by second-rate magic. The workshop's owner moves into the light at the sound of a guest, and Baron beholds his artisan.

The man smiles, and there is youth in his eyes that is at odds with his aged face. "Twice in as many years? You do spoil me with your visits, Humbert."

Baron drops a half-eaten apple on the dusty table between them. "Undo it."

The smile thins into something honest, something cruelly triumphant. "So she ate it. I was beginning to worry she'd leave it too late."

"Undo it," Baron growls.

"I cannot. Once one has eaten fae fruit, they can never go back." The artisan's eyes – so uncannily like his Creation's – glitter. "She's immortal, Humbert. Like you."

"She's nothing like me," Baron retorts. "Not anymore. She's..." He searches for words, to describe the change which has been wrought in Haru; to convey the lost kindness, the unfamiliar detachment, the shifting moralities which quickly forgets compassion. He shakes his head, abandons the attempt. "She's different. You saw to that."

"Immortality comes with a cost."

"One I never wanted her to pay."

"Are you sure about that?" His artisan rises to his feet, leaning against a cane which could have been the twin of Baron's. Once he might have easily met Baron's stare, but age has bowed his form. Even so, Baron doesn't miss the self-righteous smirk. "Really, Humbert; you should be thanking me."

"Thanking you?"

"You cannot honestly tell me you wanted your lovely human companion to die," his artisan says. "Because that's the fate you were dooming her to – dooming the both of you to – with your inaction."

Baron's chest went tight. "Haru wasn't dying."

"Of course she was!" his artisan snaps. "That's what humans do – perhaps not this day or this year, but she would have eventually. Sooner rather than later, perhaps," he added, "if she stayed with your little office."

Baron doesn't argue that – can't, when a case only a few months ago had nearly cut Haru's life short. When he had grieved for her then. "You should never have given her the apple," he says instead.

"I merely gave her the means to achieve immortality; she was the one who willingly took that final step."

"She wouldn't have taken it at all had you not put the thought into her head!"

His artisan laughs then. "I put no thought into her head which she did not already possess – which you had not already sown the seeds of." He inclines his head. "Tell me, when did she eat the apple?"

Baron scowls. He feels himself playing into his artisan's hands, and yet cannot deny the truth. "Last month."

"Nearly a year since our last encounter." The old man smiles. "Do you think, Humbert, that if it had only been my words to push her over the edge, she would have waited so long before taking it? I must admit, if I had had my way, I would have preferred her to take that step far sooner – before she could court death further while in the Bureau." He shrugs. "But she is a stubborn one, I'll give you that. If it had been only for herself, I doubt she would have looked at that apple twice – but for you?" Another aged grin. "Oh, she must have seen you in some state of distress to take the apple after putting it off for so long."

The lanterns about them flare, and then crack.

"You don't know what you're talking about," Baron growls.

"Don't I? Then tell me I'm wrong; tell me she didn’t become immortal after a near death experience which sent you spiralling."

Baron's silence is answer enough.

His artisan sighs, and sinks back into his chair. "But maybe you're right. Maybe I should have offered her another kind of immortality. After all, there's more than one way to cheat death. Perhaps I should have handed her over to vampires, or frozen her in time." A narrow smile. "Or perhaps you'd rather I had pushed a paintbrush into her hand and taught her how to become an artisan. Taught her how to seal a kernel of her soul inside an immortal Creation so she never dies. Artisan and Creation, immortal together. Would you have preferred that?"

"I would have preferred it if you'd never interfered."

"Her death would have broken you, Humbert. Both of you knew that – she was just the one brave enough to do anything about it."

Brave – and selfless enough, Baron amends. The latter which has vanished in Haru's altered fae form.

"Look at you," his artisan croons. "Look at how much you've grown past your original limits. I never made you with the ability to love – to care, sure, but never to love in any shape – and yet, here you are. Do you think I want to see that destroyed in a spat of avoidable grief?"

Baron's hands tighten their grip on his cane, reining in the anger which would serve no purpose here. "I would believe such professions of worry," he spits through gritted teeth, "had you shown any such care before now. Why now? Why take it upon yourself to tend to my well-being when you've been the distant type all these years?"

"Louise is gone, Humbert."

Baron freezes. His heart breaks with a far-off sorrow. It has been so long since he has even thought of her, and yet... "How?"

"Like you, she fell in love, and like you, it was with a mortal. When death came to collect..." His artisan hesitates. "You would not have been the first Creation to break under grief."

Baron hardens his heart, hating himself as he says, "She wasn't the first of your Creations to break, either. Where was this paternal affection when Duke died? Edwin? Wolfgang? Ailsa? How many Creations did you have to lose before you started to give a single iota of care for us? Who is there even left at this point?"

His artisan stills, his unnaturally gem-like eyes hardening.

And this is the moment where Baron marks the decrepit state of the workshop; where he notes the dust, the rot, the dulled tools. Where he sees the age sunk into his artisan, a man who had avoided the claws of time for so long through his Creations, now old and tired.

"Who is left?" Baron repeats, softer this time.

His artisan doesn't answer immediately. His mouth thins. "You would be the last."

Despite everything – despite the keening loneliness which accompanies such a reveal, despite Haru's heartbreaking predicament – Baron smiles. "Ah, now it all makes sense. I'm your final link to immortality." And even that isn't quite enough to stave off old age anymore.

"Trust me," his artisan scowls, "I wish it weren't so."

"Then why not make more?"

"You think I haven't tried?" his artisan snarls. He throws a hand at the dust-ridden workbench. "When I realised I was aging, I picked up my tools once more, but nothing came to life! I don't have it in me to create anymore!"

"You've lost the ability to create something with all your heart, with love," Baron translates, "because you only want to create to ward off death." He laughs at the irony of it all. "Your own greed is working against you."

"We all have our own agendas. So maybe I did have my own interests at heart, but all it meant was I didn't want you hurt," his artisan snaps.

"If you had so truly cared," Baron retorts, "you would have approached us both, instead of twisting Haru's fear for me behind my back. If you had truly cared, you would have wanted to help before your own mortality scared you."

Before Baron can turn to leave, his artisan grabs his wrist, anger lining his face and his hold. "She's immortal, because of me. You'll never have to grieve her, because of me."

Baron twists his arm free and returns the white-knuckled hold. "I would have chosen a single day with the Haru I knew – the Haru I loved – over an eternity with the Haru your meddling has made her into."

His artisan blanches; the first sign of unease. He attempts to pull his wrist free, but Baron is easily the stronger of them. "What are you going to do?" he asks, reading – finally – the depths of Baron's fury. "You won't hurt me – I never made you capable of seeking revenge."

"You never made me to love either, and look how that turned out," Baron reminds him with a feline smile. And he can feel it in his soul – that anger eager to be turned outwards – and knows it to be just another way he has surpassed his artisan's original craftsmanship.

And somehow, simply recognising that, helps him wrangle the ire. He harnesses it into something focused; no longer a blind, mindless fury. He loosens his hold around his artisan's wrist – not releasing him, but claws no longer biting into skin – and relaxes his shoulders.

He manages to muster up a smile that his friends might even believe.

"But you're right," he says, and he doesn't miss the relief that lines his artisan's face. "I wont hurt you. You only ever wanted to do what was best for me, after all..."

"That's right."

"I can't imagine the lengths you went to in order to procure that fae fruit, it must have been quite the task."

"Almost impossible," his artisan agrees readily.

"Indeed. The ordeal of my well-being has obviously taxed you greatly," Baron says, "and so, as thanks for your efforts, I shall do a kindness unto you and remove that stress."

He sees the glimmer of sudden wariness in his artisan's gemstone eyes. "How?"

Baron smiles. "You can have your soul back. Then you won't need to worry about me anymore."

"You can't do that."

"I think you'll find I can."

"You'll die – that soul is all you are," his artisan hisses. He attempts again to free his wrist, but Baron's hold – though deceptively gentle – doesn't yield. "A couple of pebbles and a lump of wood is all that'll remain if you give it up!"

"That's all I was when you first made me," Baron corrects him. "But as you were so eager to tell Haru, it seems I've grown beyond my original creation. Become more than the sum of my parts. So I intent to return your piece of soul, and keep the home-grown one for myself."

"Impossible."

"Shall we find out?"

It is easier than it perhaps should be to scoop out the fraction of his soul which resonates with his artisan. It calls back to its original owner, like calling to like, conveying an echo of Baron's own innate immortality. He does not release his artisan's arm, even as the man thrashes against him, until every last drop of the mortal soul has been reunited with its origin.

"What have you done to me?" his artisan demands. Gone are the eerily gemlike eyes, that undercurrent of youth and timelessness. Now all that sits before Baron is an old, tired man.

Baron straightens, dusting an imaginary speck of dust off his sleeve. "Just returned what was already yours – I think you'll find that without your tether to an immortal being, you might start to feel the effects of time again. But, dont worry," and Baron reclaims the apple, "there's more than one way to cheat death." He smiles as he leaves. "Until then, enjoy mortality."

[master-skywalker]

For this Star Wars Day, I wanted to share a WIP I have in my folder! May the Fourth be with you ✨ Time-lapse available here!

[lady-arryn]

PADME AMIDALA costume appreciation: ▶ Revenge of the Sith [9/9] (costume design by Trisha Biggar)

[owenhcrper]

The Acolyte - Night Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

[i-literally-cant-with-this]

Hi bb, just a thirst idea for you: Study fucking. Your fave has trouble being "smart" but he is a genius when it comes to pounding that ass after he gets too frustrated during a study session.

Oh, Vi, my sweet. I know you sent this a while ago. But when I read it, my heart wasn't the only thing to clench up 😈! Thank you so much for sending this to me. It was so fun to write!!

A/N ::: Nerd/Bad Boy!Keisuke Baji x F.reader, reader doesn't know he's in Toman until later (or at all, idk), he is NOT playing stupid, math is just really fucking hard!

C/W ::: Mutual pining that's super on the DL, unprotected P->V, Baji surprising us ... so nothing out of the ordinary.

WC ::: Just over 2k.

"Why though?!" Baji yelled a little louder than you thought he needed to. But it was clear he was getting more and more pissed about this. "Why the FUCK does it have to equal the fucking same area as this fucking pellaroraglam?"

You bit the insides of your cheeks and your tongue to keep from laughing at him about his pronunciation of the word 'parallelogram'. "Because that's how the Greeks intended it. Ok? Let's take a 10 minute break and come back to this again, yeah? You're not an idiot, Kei. I think you've just been staring at the book for so long that things are starting to make less and less sense. Does that make sense?" You reached over and took his glasses from his face and brushed your finger up and down the bridge of his nose. "Do you want to go for a walk or get something from the kitchen? Maybe to eat or drink? Make this 10 count because when we get back, we're hittin' it hard again, ok?"

Something about your wording made his cock twitch. But he shoved that thought down almost as quickly as it bubbled up into the forefront of his overworked brain.

"Hittin' it hard again, hah? You're mean, y/n. You're a bully. A learning bully. You're not gonna give in until I understand this shit, are ya?" He stood up from your desk and he gestured for you to follow him to your kitchen.

Your apartment was nothing special. But how you made the space your own was something that Baji always found so sweet and comforting. Of course, he'd never admit that to you. He is, after all, the first division Captain of Toman. Captains don't find things 'sweet.' They find them masculine and bloody. That's what everyone from the outside looking in thought, anyway. Though, no matter how hard he tried to ignore the pull you and your apartment had on him, he always found himself wishing he was back here, with you, in this little bubble of mild contentment you'd created.

He was relaxed when he was with you. Save for right now. But you were trying to help him study for his midterm. Any other time he's been here, he always felt safe. Maybe even small, for lack of a better descriptor, when he is anything but 'small' in any sense of the word.

"You really do have a mean streak in you, you know that?" He teased as you both walked into your kitchen. "But you're right. I need a break from that book. My eyes are crossing and it's starting to give me a headache."

"Do you want a couple of tylenol? I think I have ibuprofen, too. Anything I can do to help you with this, Keisuke. It's my job, after all. Use me however you need to to get this through that stubborn head of yours." You smiled so cute at him that he had a difficult time not telling you what he really wanted to use you for.

"Maybe I'll take you up on that. But first, can I ask you something kinda weird?" He sat down on one of the bar stools at the counter and you followed suit, sitting next to him.

"Of course! Anything, Kei." You rubbed your fingers up and down your forearm, a nervous habit. Even still, you assumed it was a question about the math you were helping him study. "What's up?"

"So, like, I know you're not into me in that way. Right? And that's fine. You've made that very clear. But, like, if you were...into me, I mean, into someone … hypothetically, I mean, what kind of person do you think you would be into? Like, are you more into the nerdy type, or the bad boy type, or, like, the artsy type?"

You didn't really understand where this was going. But you decided to humor him. "Well, I guess I've always been pretty attracted to the bad boy type. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't go for someone who was nerdy, too. It all depends on the person, you know? I have to like them first and foremost. Like, just because I see some bad boy doing bad boy stuff doesn't mean I'll fall to my knees and s-"

Baji choked on his tea, spitting it all over you in the process of trying to control the amount of liquid that was coming out of his mouth.

"Oh fuck! I'm so sorry, y/n! Gahhhd damn it. I am so sorry!" He grabbed the roll of paper towels from the counter by the sink and tore some off to frantically wipe your chest.

"K-Kei! Oh my god! Stop! It's ok! I'm at home, I can easily change my shirt. Don't worry about ... about it. You yell so much. Geez."

You hopped off of the stool and went back to your bedroom to find a shirt to change into. As you did so, Baji felt his stomach turn. He knew he shouldn't have asked you that. It was stupid and immature. But he couldn't help it. He'd had a crush on you for so long that he just needed to know if he had a chance in hell with you or not. But, as he'd guessed, you weren't interested in him that way.

He waited for you to come back to the kitchen before apologizing again. "I really am sorry, y/n. I don't know what came over me. I was just, I dunno, asking for a friend. And then you started to say that if you saw someone doing something that you’d fall to your knees and …" He waved his hand in the air as if to clear what he was going to say away before it’d even had a chance to see the light of day. “And I choked and blew my tea all over you.”

You giggled and shook your head, smiling at him. "It's ok, Kei. You're a little clumsy, but you're still really sweet. I like hanging out - I mean, you know. Helping you study. I enjoy your company, regardless of what we're doing."

"Y/n? I really wanna kih-" He blushed and looked away from you before he thought you saw his face turn a pretty shade of pink.

"You what, Kei?" You leaned around him a little to get his attention. "What do you want, Baji? You can tell me. We're friends."

FRIENDS 

"Oh, y-yeah. Of course we're ... friends. Yeah. Well, let's get back to the math, then. C'mon." His heart, smile and morale sank as he headed back to your room with you.

Meanwhile, you were left to wonder what he was going to say. What did he want to 'kih'? Kiss? Oh, no. It couldn't be that. Right? Maybe he just wanted to kick your butt for making fun of his pronunciation earlier ... even though your face was the only thing giving away the fact you were getting quite a bit of entertainment from that. He wouldn't have noticed that. Right?

You followed him back to your bedroom and decided to keep quiet about the whole thing. You couldn't imagine that he would want to kiss you. You were just his tutor. And he was so cool. He had cool friends, girls practically fell at his feet when he walked by them. He couldn't possibly have feelings for you, right?

Oh, but he did. He really did. He was mad for you. He wanted nothing more than to pull you into his lap and kiss you senseless. But that couldn't happen. He couldn't ruin the time you spent together. It was precious to him, even though he knew you saw it as nothing more than a job.

The next hour of your time together was spent studying right from the book. There was no talking, no joking, just Baji finally getting to work. It was a welcome change for you. It meant you could focus on your task at hand and not worry about him trying to distract you with his unfinished sentences.

He was still so frustrated. But he was starting to make progress. He was starting to understand what you were trying to teach him. He just wished he could show you how he felt.

As you helped him work through the last of the 4 problems he had to do, he tried to come up with a way to say it. To tell you how he really felt. He was never good at words. Action was his strength. "I'm not sure about par-parallelograms? Is that how you say it? I'm so fucking sick of that long ass word. It's so stupid. Why couldn't they just say a special type of quadrilateral that has both pairs of opposite sides parallel and equal. That word is like 73 letters long. I hate it. It's so fucking annoying, y/n. Jesus."

You clapped and jumped a little where you stood, your tits bounced and his eyes went right to them. "Yes! Yes, Kei! Good! Good job!" You jumped into his arms and hugged him so tightly, burying your face in his neck, (accidentally) inhaling his scent. "I knew you could ..." you pulled your face back from him and looked into his brown eyes. "I knew you could do it ... Keisuke. Mmm ... Kei-suk-e. You ..." you breathed the words out heavily and found yourself staring at his full lips. That sly smile, his sharp teeth. Pain never looked so appealing. 

Your heart stopped in your chest when he threw the math book across the room and it slammed into your wall with a loud thud. Before you had time to process what was happening, his hands were in your hair and his lips were on yours.

You'd been so stupid for someone who taught other people things. So stupid to not see how he felt. And now, here he was, kissing you like he needed you to breathe. You reached up and pulled his long black hair back from his face and returned the kiss with just as much intensity.

"I'm sorry I didn't say anything, y/n. I didn't think you'd want me that way. I'm just a dumbass with no future. You're so smart and pretty and funny and ... and I just can't believe you're actually kissing me back right now."

You shook your head and smiled. "I'm sorry! I didn't realize what was happening, Kei. You're not as good at hiding your feelings as you think. You should have just said something, though. This whole time we've been studying everything together, we could have been ..."

"... fucking like rabbits?" He laughed, but his eyes were serious.

You reached down and unbuttoned his jeans. "You know, it's not nice to talk to your tutor like that. But Baji, you've made a lot of progress tonight. I think you deserve a reward."

He picked you up and laid you down on your bed. "Oh yeah? And what kind of reward do you think I deserve, y/n?"

You reached over to your bedside table and turned on your neon pink LED lights. "The best kind, Kei. You've earned it."

"Fuck, y/n. You are so hot. I can't wait to fuck you so hard you forget everything you've ever taught me. We’ll have to have some more lessons. Is that ok with you?"

You nodded as you pulled your shirt up and over your head. "That sounds like a wonderful idea. We can even work on your pronunciation. You're a bit of a mess with your consonants."

He kissed you again and smiled. "Y/n, oh my god, shut up ... you're the worst." He pulled his pants down and straddled you, his cock rock hard and ready for you. "But you're also the best. I can't wait to make you mine."

"Kei, you're already mine." You reached up and cupped his cheek, pulling him in for another kiss. "Now ... teach me something.” 

@darkstarlight82 @katshimizuu @kazutora-kurokawa @southside-otaku @arlerts-angel

[hotcheetohatredwastaken]

Ah, we meet at last. Will you stand beside me as allies united under the same name, or do you seek to challenge me, believing that there can only be one...?

You.

Over a year after this account was created, we finally meet face to face. I am honored to make your acquaintance on this cursed website.

We are better than allies and worse than enemies, dear internet stranger. We are mutuals, now. Brothers, even. Brothers under the same name, the likes of Cain and Abel.

Whether our fates are similar to theirs is up to you, dear Hot Cheeto Hatred. And choose carefully: it may not be the older brother that prevails this time. That would be quite the boring story.

In the meantime, I am glad to be in your company.

Sincerely, HotCheetoHatred(WasTaken)

[knifeslidez]

happy valentine's ray

[en-ben]

girl help... I'm doomed by the narrative

[phoenixspencer]

@swsource​ star wars week: day 2 – Trilogy Wars | The Prequel Trilogy

"I have failed you, Anakin... I have failed you."

[catharsim]

Kringle Christmas Tree Farm 🎄

[midnight-mourning]

Week 3! But WHAT'S THIS?? WHO ARE THESE HANDSOME FELLAS???

Why, they're none other than some of my beloved mutuals versions of Sun! Or at the very least, attempts at them!

Yapping and links to the mutuals and their aus below the cut :)

**also you should click for better quality**

Something important that I remembered recently was what advice I got from watching Bob Ross paint (yes I do bob ross paintings in my free time, moving on) which is that when you're following someone else's process, you're not trying to copy them, but rather emulate them and learn the fundamentals while do so.

It's how I'm now able to do paintings in 'bob ross style' without following a tutorial bc i learned the basics first and foremost. And besides being my moots (who I think are so cool and amazing) I chose these 4 designs specifically because of how distinct their styles are and how each ends up with very pretty end results regardless.

So that's how we ended up with the last three drawings of the week, which are me trying to figure out a more lax sketch/doodle style (Day 20), a very detailed style for more 'finished' pieces (Day 21), and lastly somewhere in between (Day 19).

I've seen a lot of growth in myself while going through this challenge, both in my art and in my confidence towards it, and I'm excited to finish out this next week. Who knows, might see a few other familar faces mixed in :)

As for my lovely moots, if you haven't already you should go check them out! They all make very great content. Hope I did y'all justice with these! Stared at your art for hours and simultaneously had a TON of fun drawing your versions of the boy ^-^

In Order of Appearence:

Eclipsed By You (EBY) Sun - @ping-ski

All Bark No Bite Sun - @cazbats

Fashion/Model Au Sun - @luckyyyduckyyy

Solar Takeoff/Ride Operator Au Sun - @fishm0ther

[twilightakiishi]

look at our sailor dawg we're gonna get shipwrecked

[crowleysgirl56]

Good Omens season 3/finale thought of the day:

Does anyone else hope Sandalphon will be back in the finale? I do. Mainly because I want Crowley to seek revenge on Sandalphon for punching Aziraphale in the gut back in season 1. I know that’s petty. But I just really want Crowley to get even with him for being so horrible to his Angel.

[fuumiku]

Day 21: Tavern

Pre-canon vs Post-canon 💖

Be careful guys it starts with your coworker asking "What's the name of your hometown?" and next thing you know it's "When is your daughter's wedding happening? Can I help get Flertom ready?" Love love love thinking about them meeting at taverns to think of plans to reconcile Chilchuck with his wife that somehow turn into her planning out a wedding. "Renewing of vows!! It's necessary trust me!!", Marcille argues. She's just having fun, and frankly who's not thinking it's kinda cute of her. He promised it to her alongside meeting his family & now she is claiming her rights

Which hey speaking of, this is kinda similar to the premise of the fic I posted (the first chapter of) the other day, meant for an early prompt in the month! Ten simple steps to not get your wife back! A romcom where Kabru sees their umpteenth efforts to make a plan to reconcile him with his wife, bound to once again go nowhere, and tries to help!... By matchmaking his friends together, because hey Marcille doesn't fake dating sound like the best way to achieve this? Hey Marcille it'll totally work, like in that romance political intrigue novel you read that other time, exactly yeah! Chilchuck is powerless to stop the menace of the two royal advisors working together

[saltpepperbeard]

so i was complaining talking to my dad about the suffering that is the renewal void, and he agreed that it would be a bit nonsensical for max to-

push physical merch on their site

create a bunch of custom icons for users on their site

put so much effort into marketing s2, to the point of putting spots on tv, hanging up gigantic billboards, and spreading teasers all across social media

-if they had no intention to see the show all the way through.

which was ✨validating✨ coming from an outside party, because it's something i've been thinking this whole time. now, granted, i don't trust streaming services, and stranger things have happened, buuuuut idk. it really seems like there's a part of them that realizes ofmd is a large, important property to them, but we shall seeeeeee,,,

[al-luviec]

compiled whatever this is (and I run out of tag space)

meh HoT gifs (3/?)